Safety of a New Compact Male Intermittent Catheter: Randomized, Cross-Over, Single-Blind Study in Healthy Male Volunteers

Introduction: A new compact male intermittent catheter was compared with a regular intermittent male catheter in terms of safety and acceptability. Methods: In this randomized, single-blind, cross-over study, healthy male volunteers were catheterized twice with a compact catheter and twice with a regular catheter. Results: 28 participants were enrolled. Mean ± SD discomfort (visual analogue scale; primary objective) was 2.25 ± 1.5 and 2.52 ± 1.8 for the compact and regular catheters, respectively (difference -0.27; 95% confidence interval -0.73 to 0.19); there was no significant difference in hematuria (p = 0.54) or discomfort/stinging/pain at first micturition (p = 0.56). During insertion, handling was easier (p = 0.0001) and touching the coating was necessary less often (2.2 vs. 81.3% of catheterizations; p <0.0001) with the compact catheter; it was preferred by nurses for 20 of 23 participants. No adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Short-term safety of the new compact catheter was at least as good as that of the regular male intermittent catheter and handling was improved.